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Dreamliner flies passengers for 1st time since grounding

Rodney Muhumuza, Associated Press
1:06 p.m. EDT April 29, 2013

An All Nippon Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner flies over Tokyo Bay during a test flight on April 28. ANA has successfully conducted its first test flight of the aircraft since battery problems grounded the planes worldwide earlier this year. Kyodo News via AP

Boeing Aircraft-on-Ground team technician David Brask explains the new battery system for Boeing 787 to the media as he stands in front of its engine inside ANA's maintenance hangar at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo. Shizuo Kambayashi, AP

An Ethiopian Airlines Dreamliner jet arrives at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, on April 27. The carrier became the first airline to resume flying the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Ethiopian Airlines, Africa's fastest-growing carrier, is the first airline in Africa to operate the 787 Dreamliner. Simon Maina, AFP/Getty Images

Members of the Boeing Aircraft-on-Ground team work on the fuselage of an All Nippon Airways Boeing 787 inside the ANA's maintenance hangar at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo. Shizuo Kambayashi, AP

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) - A Boeing 787 operated by Ethiopian Airlines flew from Ethiopia to Kenya's capital Saturday, the first commercial flight since air safety authorities grounded the Dreamliners after incidents with smoldering batteries on two different planes in January.

The Boeing 787 passenger jet arrived in Nairobi on Saturday afternoon after a two-hour trip from Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, according to the Kenya airport website. The Dreamliner arrived at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 12:40 p.m. local time, according to the Kenya Airports Authority.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has approved Boeing's redesigned battery system, which the company says sharply reduces the risk of fire.

Richard J. Horigan, a Boeing engineer, told reporters in Nairobi this week that all potential causes of battery fire have been eliminated with the new system. But he noted that the root cause of smoldering batteries experienced by the two different 787s may never be known because the evidence was destroyed by heat.

"We would like to thank Ethiopian Airlines for the patience, support and leadership shown throughout the period that the 787 Dreamliner has been grounded," Boeing Commercial Airplanes President Ray Conner said in a news release.

There are 50 Dreamliners in service around the world. Once the FAA approves the fix on individual planes, airlines can start flying them again. United Airlines, the only U.S. airline with the planes, moved one of its six 787s to a Boeing facility in San Antonio, Texas, on Tuesday so it can get the battery fixed. Neither of the battery incidents involved a United jet.

Boeing said Wednesday that deliveries of the 787 should resume in early May.